halloween

Hal·low·een:  [hal-uh-ween, -oh-een, hol-]

~ NOUN:  THE EVENING OF OCTOBER 31ST; THE EVE OF ALL SAINTS DAY; ALL HALLOWS EVE; OBSERVED ESPECIALLY BY CHILDREN IN COSTUMES WHO SOLICIT TREATS, OFTEN BY THREATENING MINOR PRANKS ~

happy halloween friends!! 

as i sit here with my cup of coffee and pumpkin scone, i simply cannot believe where the time has gone.  i feel like i was just sitting here writing about my word of intention for 2012 and now, the holiday season is upon us.

provided i can successfully make it through the marathon conference calls today, it is going to be a great halloween! 

a few of the things i'm looking forward to today:

*  carving our pumpkins!  this year, we decided to get two pumpkins.  one will be for the furkids and have a big paw print on it.  the second will be our "traditional" pumpkin.  each year, husband and i do the standard two triangles for eyes, one triangle for the nose, but the special part is how many teeth will show up in our pumpkin's smile!  we carve one tooth for each halloween we've spent together as a married couple.  this year, our pumpkin will have three!  i love that special tradition we created and i get a little sentimental every year. 

*  fresh apple cider!  back in late august, we went to my best friend, lise's, family farm for an old fashioned apple picking and cider making.  my friends, this is not the stuff you get in the grocery store.  it is so fresh, so delicious, so pure.  i have had it stashed away in the freezer, just waiting for the perfect debut.  tonight is the night!

*  snuggling my godson, jordan!  i am so excited to give him his halloween surprise, which includes his first crayons and coloring books!  his mama, lise, is a huge unc fan and is dressing him up as their mascot, rameses, the bighorn ram.  now, anyone who knows me, knows that i am a HUGE nc state fan and unc is one of our biggest rivals.  the only person who could get me to snuggle with the unc mascot, is my cutie pie godson.  i will be rocking my nc state cheerleader uniform as my costume, though.  got to represent my team and i think it will make for some cute pictures too!

*  giving out treats to all our trick-or-treaters with my family, friends, and neighbors!  i'm so glad my parents are going to join us this year, as they don't get trick-or-treaters in their neigborhood, and we have tons!  plus, we make it into a really fun event in our neighborhood! our house, as well as our neighbors' houses, sit on pretty steep driveways.  so, we pull our firepits down to the bottom of the driveways and set up shop there so the kiddos (and parents) don't have to make the hike up to our houses.  it is always such a fun night of fellowship and laughter!

i hope each of you has a safe and fun halloween!  what are you looking forward to this evening?

xoxox - 

acceptance

ac·cept·ance:  [ak-sep-tuhns]

 ~NOUN:  1) FAVORABLE RECEPTION, APPROVAL, FAVOR; 2) THE ACT OF ASSENTING OR  BELIEVING; 3) THE FACT OR STATE OF BEING ACCEPTED OR ACCEPTABLE~



my husband…and family….. and friends...have been confounded for years now about my love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with my hair.

my husband…and family…and friends… love it… as for me?

i’ve hated it most of my life.

looking at the unruly mess in the mirror, oftentimes, brings me back to the insecure little girl who lives deep inside of me.

 i wish i was blonde.

or brunette.

with preferably straight hair...

because the red hair…

…with curls to boot…

well… it brings teasing….and spit balls…..and pointing…..and pulling…..and fists.

all things that you desperately don’t want in your life, well, ever.

things that you really don’t want as a young child of 5 years of age.

you know.

to be different.

being different is not a desirable trait as a child.

so, I’ve spent most of my life fighting my hair. it is a battle that has raged long and hard for many years. it is either:

1) twisted into a bun
2) perfectly curled with a large barrel curling iron, or
3) straightened with my trusty flat iron.

it is a rare occasion that i will leave the house without one of my perfectly coiffed 'dos.

a few weeks ago, i was at the beach house with the family. i had to work until 6 and the family was chomping at the bit to get to the restaurant. i jumped in the shower, washed my hair, and rushed to find some clothes to put on.

i turned to the mirror and stared at the mass of tangled curls.

ugh!!!!!


no time to blow dry and style.

double ugh!!!!!!!

no time to air dry and toss into a bun. i was going to have to go au natural with the ‘do tonight. i cringed and then haphazardly threw some gel into my hair, scrunched, and rolled out to dinner.

my husband looked at me and said, “you are trying something new tonight with the hair. i dig it. it looks great.”

 i smiled, said thank you, while simultaneously thinking that he HAS to say that and there cannot possibly be a kernel of truth in it.

then, i went to the bathroom in the restaurant.

once again, i was faced with that dreaded mirror.

holy cow!

he was right. it did look great.

my hair, in its natural state, was darn near pretty.

i stared. shook my hair model style. then, i may, or may not, have winked at myself.

for the first time, there i was, crazy mane of red curly hair in its natural state.

no fuss, no muss. just me… and i was in public to boot!

i wasn’t bending and conforming to what i thought i should be…or what i thought i should look like to fit in.

 i was me.

and I LIKED IT.

 it felt good.

authentic.

true.

it got me thinking about how often we try to bend and conform to what we think we should be. or how we think we should look. or how we should feel. or what our opinions should be.

how much time do we spend (and i would venture to say waste) trying to be something we aren’t….or feeling a way we don’t…..or looking a specific way……or thinking a way that doesn’t ring true to our soul.

what if we spent that time understanding who we are and what we think? and embracing those that are different than us? and realizing that all the diversity of physical, mental, spiritual is what makes humanity awesome? what if we spent our time on that?

it reminds me of my first several yoga classes. i was anxious and worried about what the person next to me thought or what the teacher would classify me as.

future yogini or massive yoga failure?

i couldn’t do that pose, i couldn’t stretch or lengthen, i couldn’t balance.

i was a total yoga FAILURE.

but, i returned. to the mat. to the studio. to my path.

then, after about class # 6, i was solely residing in my own body and experience. i was contemplating my own practice, my own thoughts, the way my body responded to a movement, or didn’t, where i was stuck, or why my mind couldn’t just shut up already.

i wasn’t concerned with what others were doing around me. i was just doing my thing. sharing my energy, sharing my practice, but doing what my body and soul needed.

and the rest of my friends in class?

whether they were doing the fullest expression of the pose, or resting in child’s pose, they showed up. they were there. they were rocking it. they were sharing their energy.

as was i.

regardless of our physical appearance or aliments.

regardless of our religious or political beliefs.

regardless of our emotional or mental state of mind.

we were there. and that was awesome. it changed my life.

while intimidation has come and gone in my life, i always go back to that moment….where intimidation and insecurity melted into love and acceptance, not only of others around me, but of myself.

then, it happened again. unguarded, in another moment and place, it happened….where intimidation and insecurity melted into love and acceptance….but this time solely of myself….

i am the girl with the untamed lock of red curly hair.

i am different.

i am special.

i am unique.

HEAR ME ROAR!

favorites

fa·vor·ite:  [fey-ver-it, feyv-rit]

~NOUN:  A PERSON OR THING REGARDED WITH SPECIAL FAVOR OR PREFERENCE~


happy friday, friends!

i don't know about you, but by the time friday rolls around, i'm a mixture of giddiness and exhaustion.  giddy because i have made it to the weekend while simultaneously exhausted after a long work week.

so, like many other blogs, i'll be posting some of my favorite things here on fridays.

it will give my brain a break and save you from having to read an entire post on my latest candle obsession.

see?  win-win.

without further ado, here are my friday favorites this week!

*  fall at the beach - the husband and i decided to pack up and spend the week at our beach house ( major perk of being a mobile employee).  monday and tuesday were a washout, but since then, it has been absolutely lovely.  sunny, but with that cool, crisp bit of fall in the air.

* pecan praline creamer - while frantically searching for sour cream, i stumbled upon this creamer and threw it in my car.  i couldn't resist.  i know it is bad for me, but it is oh.so.good.  thank goodness it is seasonal or i could develop a serious problem.

* jeans, a white 3/4 length sleeve t-shirt, a scarf, boots, and a light sweater, just in case.  also known as my fall uniform.

* candlelight meditation - when i fall off the meditation wagon, this is the easiest way for me to climb back on.  i love it.  (maybe this deserves a separate post?)

* breaking the rules - bogue, our chesapeake bay retriever, is not allowed on furniture, because his daddy is mean.  ;-)  however, at the beach, we break the rules and he gets to sleep in the bed with us and i LOVE it.  no sleeping at the foot of the bed for him, oh no.  it is straight up spooning with mama.  it is our special little treat.   

have a great weekend!

xoxox -

unexpected

un·ex·pect·ed:  [uhn-ik-spek-tid]

~ADJECTIVE:  NOT EXPECTED; UNFORESEEN; SURPRISING~

i had dinner with a “new” friend a few weeks ago.  it was the first time that she and i had hung out independent of our respective men folk.   i’m not going to lie, i was a little nervous at first. 

okay.  a lot nervous. 

i didn’t know how it was going to go or what we would talk about, especially seeing as how i am notorious for not opening up to new people. 

(oh that pesky past….how it will creep up on you when you least expect it….)

we placed our orders and we began a casual chat about the food.

which quickly turned into a conversation about the present…. and about our pasts….and about learning to let go.

we got philosophical.

towards the end of the evening, my dinner companion was reflecting on the current state of her life.  she tilted her head as she determined the perfect descriptive word.

after a brief pause, she used the word content.

i looked at her and said, “santosha?”

little did she know it, but that was a serious shift in pattern for me.  i don’t typically go throwing sanskrit around unless i'm pretty sure my audience is of the yoga practicing variety.  i understand that not everyone wants a dissertation on the 8-limbed path.

(warning:  i will go all passionate yogini if one does ask me anything about yoga.  so, i know from whence i speak when referring to a dissertation on the 8-limbed path.)

so, i try to respect that we each have our own journey and what works for me, may not work for somebody else and that in itself, is awesome.

however, in that moment, being present,  i threw caution to the wind.  i just blurted it out without the least bit of hesitation.

her response?

a smile, a nod, and “yes, santosha.”

it was a beautiful and unexpected moment.

one that i easily could’ve never experienced.

if i had thought about the past…or if I told myself (like I have done so many times) it is dangerous to open up to new people (you could get your heart broken, after all)…or if i had checked my phone for a text, a call, a “like” on facebook…

i would’ve missed it.

i would’ve missed connecting in a very unique way that i would’ve never anticipated.

i would’ve missed the opportunity to place one more stone in the new foundation of friendship.

but, i didn’t.

by divine grace, i remained open and present.

i just adore that.

those wonderfully beautiful and lovely moments that could slip right by, but don’t.

the evening was fantastically unexpected.

xoxox-